The Lady Eve

The Lady Eve

Considered one of the all-time classic comedies, written and directed by the legendary Preston Sturges, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda, The Lady Eve has quite the pedigree.

While I prefer Sturges' crazier work, like Unfaithfully Yours and The Palm Beach Story, this film certainly has its own strengths. For one thing, I would never have guessed Henry Fonda could handle outright slapstick comedy as well as he does in this film, which I think largely comes from how unassuming and innocent his expressions are. Barbara Stanwyck is undoubtedly the reason to see the film though, having that rare, entrancing, star quality which elevates her already well-written character into something truly iconic. Just her introduction with the mirror alone is enough to love her, then seeing her play off of Henry Fonda shoots her charisma levels into the stratosphere.

A lot of comedies from the 1940's come from clever back-and-forth dialogue, which doesn't typically work for me, but Sturges was always brilliant at avoiding that, always going for delightful absurdity over forced wit. Lady Eve, while not as absurd as some of his other work, gets its biggest laughs from its absurd moments. The slapstick, bizarre visual gags, strange characters, and over the top reactions are what make the film unique from so many other comedies of its time. There's also an undeniable cynicism lurking in it, stemming from Sturges being on his third divorce when he wrote it, which adds to its somewhat alternative quality. This makes it very easy to see why The Coen Brothers see Sturges as a personal hero.

Not every joke in the movie lands for me, including some entire scenes (mainly the poker scenes, a subject I always check out on simply because of ignorance and lack of interest), but overall it's an enjoyable time and I certainly get why it's a classic. I recommend seeing it if you haven't already, and also recommend checking out any of Sturges' other films, as there really isn't anything else like them.